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The city’s top retailers join forces to teach customer service to foreign students
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Two students with Stuart McKinlay, Training Coordinator at Sainsbury's
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Four of the city’s top retailers have teamed up with a local training provider to teach a group of French students about the importance of customer care.
For the third consecutive year, NVQ students from Martigue near Marseilles have visited Portsmouth to complete work placements and learn about the importance of customer service when developing a successful retail outlet. Sainsbury’s and Homebase in Farlington, along with Tesco at Port Solent and M&S in Portsmouth, offered the students work placements in their bustling stores.
As part of the placements, the French students were given an introduction to the city and its retail outlets by Moore Associates, the UK Partner of the scheme. They also developed their English skills with the help of the Portsmouth English Language School.
Shelagh Moore, Training Director at Moore Associates, said she really values “the support of fellow Chamber members and our colleagues in the retail outlets, who agree to give presentations, provide induction support and generally make our French visitors very welcome.”
“We have a group of HR managers and their staff, colleagues at PELS, Lakeside and Keys Transport who support and help the visit and placements become a success,” explained Shelagh. “They provide a really positive example to the visiting students of how local businesses can work effectively together to provide a unique experience for them.”
Shelagh explained that the trip, whilst equipping the students with skills and experience in customer service, also had a benefit to local businesses: “The students buy in the local shops, and promote Portsmouth as a good place to visit when they return home. Local transport is used to and from airports as well as the local buses for transport to work placements.”
Shelagh said they had great feedback from one of the retailers: “Sainsbury’s told us the students ‘were friendly, worked hard, were willing to take orders and their good English made a big difference.’ The friendliness of the staff and their help was much remarked on by the teachers and students in their final reports and presentations,” said Shelagh. “Some wish to return when they have qualified in France in order to improve their English skill and learn more about business in the UK.”
The trip included a visit to the Mary Rose Museum where students were how customers can be cared for by taking into account individual needs. The exercises, with specially adapted glasses to show how things are seen if you are visually impaired, or in a wheelchair, helped the students assess and understand how disabilities are catered for in retail and other areas.
The trip was made possible by a grant from the Leonardo Da Vinci scheme, which aims to improve the quality of vocational training systems and practices in Europe. It provides funding for projects that develop initial and continuing vocational training across member states.
This trip was so successful that another group will visit Portsmouth in March for a week and will be given a presentation by Rhoda Joseph from Cascades, to prepare the students who will visit on the Leonardo Da Vinci scheme in 2011.
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By Laura Nineham
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